FlightSafety International is planning to install its third Gulfstream G650 full-flight simulator at its Long Beach, Calif., center in early 2014. The company currently offers G650 training using its first two G650 simulators in Savannah, Ga.
Bombardier is pushing off the expected entry-into-service date for its Learjet 85 until summer 2014, citing “several new technology challenges” associated with the development of a composite aircraft. The company had originally hoped to begin delivery of its largest and first all-composite Learjet before the end of 2013. But as the year began, the aircraft still had not flown, and Bombardier has not wanted to give a target for when the first flight might occur.
The U.S. Air Force now plans to announce the winner of its Light Air Support contract on Feb. 27. A decision had once been expected in January. The Air Force originally awarded the contract to a Sierra Nevada/Embraer team, but rebid it after Beechcraft contested the award. Beechcraft, which views its military/special mission business as a critical part of its future, has had considerable success with U.S. military awards.
PACIFIC AEROSPACE Models FU24-954 and FU24A-954 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1251; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-044-AD; Amendment 39-17335; AD 2013-03-01] – supersedes an existing AD specifies operating limitations for the engines during parachute operations. That AD stemmed from mandatory continuing airworthiness information from the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, which cites reports of aircraft operating outside the aft center gravity (C of G) limits during parachute drop operations. Exceeding C of G limits could result in loss of airplane control.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association continues to expand with the addition of three new members – CubCrafters, SimCom, and Taylor-Deal Aviation. The newest additions bring GAMA’s membership to more than 80 companies. CubCrafters, founded in 1980 by current owner and President Jim Richmond, produces both standard and light-sport aircraft from its facilities at McAllister Field Airport (YKM) in Yakima, Wash. SimCom provides training from its facilities in Orlando, Fla.; Glendale and Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Dallas/Fort Worth.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators are trying to determine why the pilots of a Beechcraft 390 Premier IA business jet aborted a landing at Thomson-McDuffie County Airport, Ga., before the aircraft struck a utility pole and crashed late Feb. 20, killing all five passengers aboard. The two pilots aboard the flight survived.
DuPage Airport in West Chicago recently completed a 1,343-ft. extension of its secondary runway. The extension, which brings the runway to 6,350 ft., provides the airport with two runways capable of accommodating large corporate jets. The primary runway, at 7,570 ft., is the second longest in the Chicago area after O’Hare International Airport. The $3.5 million project was completed following six months of construction and a five-year FAA approval process.
BRIAN PANNING was appointed as a sales director for Tempus Aircraft Sales & Service, an Englewood, Colo.-based authorized sales and service center for Piper and Pilatus aircraft. Panning will be responsible for Pilatus aircraft sales in Southern California, and new and used jet acquisition and sales worldwide. He has more than 30 years of aviation industry experience, most recently as the Western Pacific U.S. sales director for Hawker Beechcraft. He has also worked with Gulfstream and Galaxy and served as vice president of sales at Jeteffect.
Business aircraft activity has begun to pick up this year, with flight hours improving in all jet categories and Part 135 hours jumping 13.8% in January, according to the latest report from industry analyst Argus. Business aircraft traffic overall was up 1.7% in January, compared with the same month in 2012. All categories of business jets posted gains, with mid-cabins improving the most at 4.1%. Small cabins followed at 2.1%, while large cabin business jet flight hours tracked with the overall gains at 1.7%.
JACK MILL has become vice president of engineering for Piper Aircraft, taking on the role he has held on an interim basis for several months. Mill has more than 30 years of aircraft design and engineering experience. He has served with the company since 1985, and held positions in design, engineering management and Piper’s delegated FAA organization.
Bombardier saw a dramatic jump in its Aerospace backlog in 2012 to $32.9 billion, but the company is cautiously scaling up production this year. Bombardier’s backlog in 2012 grew 38% from the $23.9 billion in 2011 as net orders for its business aircraft almost doubled to 392. The company reported net orders for 191 business aircraft in 2011, but that only included an 11-month period because of a change in the company’s fiscal year.
Hawker Beechcraft’s seven U.S. factory-owned service centers were recognized with the Diamond Award from FAA’s Maintenance Technician Program. The award recognizes 100% employee participation in the program and is based on the number of hours of FAA-approved aviation maintenance training received throughout the year. The centers include two bases in Atlanta, along with facilities in Tampa, Indianapolis, Wichita, Houston, and Wilmington, Del.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model EC 155B, EC155B1, SA-365N1, AS-365N2 and AS 365 N3 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0075; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-104-AD; Amendment 39-17336; AD 2013-03-02] – supersedes an AD that currently requires inspecting certain tail rotor hubs (TRH) for a crack and removing any cracked TRH. This AD requires the same actions but adds more part numbers to the list of affected TRHs. This AD is prompted by further analysis that indicates that additional part-numbered TRHs must be inspected for cracks.
An International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) committee has agreed to recommend an additional 7 dB reduction in noise levels for aircraft, with the new limits to be put in place at the end of 2017 for large aircraft and the beginning of 2020 for smaller ones, including most business jets.
Piper Aircraft’s drive to level-load its deliveries kept shipments stable through the fourth quarter even as the Vero Beach, Fla.-manufacturer ramped up production, leading to double-digit gains in revenues and deliveries.
QUINN HAMON was named director of safety for regional fractional operator Executive AirShare. Hamon previously served as chief pilot for AirNet Systems in Columbus, Ohio. He also has served as a flight instructor with Pan Am International Flight Academy.
Garmin International has developed a GRA 5500 all-digital radar altimeter for transport, business and general aviation aircraft, as well as helicopters. Garmin says the new unit enables consistent and accurate altitude tracking, even over challenging environments such as rough terrain, tree canopies, sand and choppy water. “The GRA 5500 meets the highest altitude accuracy standards only previously seen in products for transport and military aircraft,” says Carl Wolf, vice president of aviation sales and marketing for Garmin.
FAA is working with airport, state and industry groups to better define general aviation airports that do not fit into any clear category. The agency last spring issued a study, General Aviation Airports: A National Asset, to further define the role of GA airports, that highlighted the diverse roles of nearly 3,000 general aviation airports. The initial study pinpointed may functions of GA airports, from medical, search and rescue, disaster relief, firefighting, law enforcement, remote community access, cargo, commercial activity and industrial.
HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND 14SF-7, 14SF-15 and 14SF-23 series propellers [Docket No. FAA-2013-0056; Directorate Identifier 2012-NE-48-AD] – proposes to require, for propellers using certain Hamilton Sundstrand auxiliary pumps and motors (auxiliary feathering pumps), removing certain serial numbers (S/Ns) of auxiliary feathering pumps from service. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of a propeller not moving into the feathering position after an engine inflight shutdown.
Feb. 28, 2013—NABA Business Aviation Regional Forums, AirFlite, Long Beach Airport (Daugherty Field) Long Beach, Calif., www.nbaa.org/events/forums/20130228/ Feb. 26-28, 2013—Air Charter Safety Foundation 2013 Air Charter Safety Symposium, NTSB Training Center, Ashburn, Va., (888) 723-3135, www.acsf.aero March 5-7, 2013—Airports Council International-North America, 2013 Operations & Technical Affairs Conference, St. Petersburg, Fla., www.aci-na.org/event/2412/
The Department of Transportation is warning that sequestration would cut $619 million from FAA’s fiscal 2013 budget and that the cuts could result in the furlough of more than 40,000 FAA employees and delay elements of the NextGen air traffic modernization program. DOT outlined the potential ramifications of the automatic spending cuts that would come with sequestration in a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
ROSCOE ARMSTRONG was appointed chief operating officer for StarPort. Armstrong will oversee the day-to-day operations of StarPort, including aircraft maintenance, avionics, paint, interior and fixed-base operation services. Armstrong has more than 30 years experience working for and with aviation services companies, holding positions with the U.S. Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Agency, L-3 Communications, TXI Aviation and FAA.
The European Parliament expects the world’s airlines to commit to a draft emissions trading plan in September to avoid having the European Union restart the clock on its own system, the chairman of the legislative body’s Transportation Committee says. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly is scheduled to meet in September.
